The 7th graders attempted to make soap yesterday by combining alcohol, salt, fat and sodium hydroxide.  Is it possible to make soap out of other substances? How does this happen?  They are still pondering these questions.  But, they definitely all agree that there is evidence that a chemical reaction took place.   How will they determine if the soap they made is actually a new substance?  Stay tuned to find out.

The 7th graders have completed their study of energy and are beginning to explore matter and chemical reactions.  They have been engaged in a series of experiments trying to explain properties of matter in order to describe how substances are the same and different.  Thinking about matter and trying to understand it at the atomic level is tricky.  Kids can’t see the things we are talking about.  This unit will help them develop their ability to think abstractly and understand that there are many scientific processes at work that aren’t always obvious.

This is the driving question the 8th graders have been pondering for the past two weeks.  They have been analyzing a variety of apparatuses in order to determine how the forces exerted on each apparatus make it move.  Students have examined Newton’s Cradle, a magnetic cannon, flying balloons and more.  They’ve analyzed the role each component of the system plays in the objects movement and built models to explain their thinking.  At times, the answers to why an object moves the way it does seems obvious.  However, I’ve been challenging the students to really dig deep to understand the nuances that exist within these systems in order to be able to support their claims with effective evidence and reasoning.

A lot has been going on the past few weeks in 8th grade.  Two weeks ago, the nervous and excited 8th graders presented their building prototypes to a group of professors and graduate students at UWM.  There, they explained their design and tested their structures on a shake table.  Professors judged each designed and gave each group feedback.  Congratulations to T.B. and E.G. for winning first place, O.F. and S.I. for winning second and E.A. and H.E.  for winning third for their designs!  And, congratulations to all for taking the time to slow down the design process in order to work through the engineering process with careful thought and consideration.